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St. Louis Cardinals vs. MLB: A look at the first week's worth of stats

By Ben Humphrey Updated
Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015 season is now a calendar week. Most teams have played six games. The St. Louis Cardinals have played just five, thanks to inclement weather, a lack of functioning restrooms, unfinished bleachers, or some combination thereof. Teams that have played six games have completed 3.7% of the 2015 season. With five games under their belts, the Cardinals have finished 3.1% of their campaign. The season is young.

April is a fun month in which to watch baseball. After the dead of a baseball-less winter, it's wonderful to watch baseball being played outdoors on green grass. The odd stats that result from small samples of plate appearances and innings pitched are fun in their novelty. I enjoy the mountainous peaks and valleys that early-season stats feature. But we all know that the accumulation of more innings pitched and plate appearances will erode the peaks and fill in the valleys. While fun, a statistical line after five or six games does not tell us much about what to expect moving forward.

With these early-season realities in mind, I thought we might take a look at some stats from the season's opening week.

  • MLB non-pitchers took 6,756 PA in the opening week and hit for a .245 BA, .313 OBP, .389 SLG, .702 OPS, .308 wOBA (100 wRC+).
  • In 2014, MLB non-pitches hit for a .255 BA, .318 OBP, .393 SLG, .711 OPS, and .315 wOBA.
  • In 2013, MLB non-pitchers hit .257/.322/.403/.725 (.318 wOBA).
  • Through five games this young season, Cardinals non-pitchers have hit .252/.328/.380/.708 (.312 wOBA). By wOBA, the Cardinals rank 12th in the majors. Their 106 wRC+ ranks 11th.
  • In 2014, St. Louis non-pitchers batted .259/.327/.380/.707 (.315 wOBA). The team's 101 wRC+ placed 14th in the majors.
  • The MLB overall Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) so far this year is .286 for all players (including pitchers). That's rather low. Usually the MLB-wide BABIP is around .300. What does it mean? BABIP may very well be rather low come the end of September.
  • The Cards have hit for a collective .297 BABIP so far this season. That ties the Braves for the sixth-highest in the NL.
  • The Rockies lead the NL with a .367 BABIP so far this year.
  • Colorado's .374 wOBA leads the NL.
  • The Rockies have played all their games at Coors Field and Miller Park so far this year. Their 135 wRC+ is second in the NL to the Dodgers (144). The Dodgers' .303 BABIP ranks fourth in the NL.
  • The Tigers lead MLB with a .398 BABIP through the first week of play.
  • Detroit's .420 wOBA is the tops in the majors (as is their 170 wRC+).
  • In MLB this year, there have been 1,431 strikeouts. Players have struck out in 20.6% of their PAs.
  • In MLB this year, there have been 1,506 hits. Players have rapped a hit in 21.6% of their PAs.
  • There were 30,644 strikeouts in MLB during the 2005 season. Players struck out in 16.4% of their PAs.
  • There were 43,992 hits in MLB during the 2005 season. Players got a hit in 23.6% of their PAs.
  • The Cardinals as a team have 44 strikeouts (22.3%) and 42 hits (21.3%) in 197 PAs so far this year.
  • MLB as a whole is batting .261/.337/.413/.750 (.318 wOBA, 107 wRC+) with runners in scoring position (RISP) so far in 2015.
  • In 45 PAs (37 ABs) the Cardinals have hit .240/.326/.270/.596 (.254 wOBA, 78 wRC+) with RISP.
  • The Cardinals averaged 3.8 runs per game last year.
  • The Cardinals have averaged 3.6 runs per game so far in 2015.
  • In 2015, NL starting pitchers have posted a collective 3.78 ERA to date.
  • St. Louis starters own a 2.37 ERA through five starts this year.
  • NL starters have struck out 20.2% of the batters they've faced to date in 2015.
  • Cardinals starters have K'd 22.2% of the opposition.
  • NL starters have issued a free pass to 7.8% of the batsmen they've come up against in 2015.
  • St. Louis starters have walked 5.1% of the batters they've faced.
  • Batters have a 12.2% HR/FB rate against NL starters in 2015.
  • The Cardinals starters have 16.1% HR/FB rate this year.
  • The NL starting pitcher FIP is 3.86 in 2015.
  • The Cardinals' starting pitcher FIP is 4.12.
  • The overall NL starter xFIP is 3.60 so far this year.
  • The St. Louis starter xFIP is 3.31.
  • The BABIP against Cardinals starters is .190 through five games.
  • The NL reliever ERA to date is 3.01.
  • The St. Louis relievers own a 2.45 ERA so far this year.
  • The NL reliever FIP is 2.91 in 2015.
  • This young season the Cards' collective reliever FIP is 2.12.
  • NL relievers have posted a 3.23 xFIP to date.
  • The St. Louis relief xFIP is 2.92.

Correction: The original version of this post states the Rockies have played all their games at home. It has been corrected.

FanDuel:

SBN and FanDuel have an exclusive partnership for daily fantasy baseball this 2015 season and they're paying SBN writers like me to help promote it. If I were setting a FanDuel lineup for today (April 13, 2015), I'd look at Adam Wainwright against the Brewers at pitcher-friendly Busch. I also like Jhonny Peralta against Matt Garza. Click here to play FanDuel.

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